Are you looking for fun, educational websites for kids
at home? Here are some sites with exciting learning activities, such as
exploring space, running a business, or comparing local news to online
sources. Kids can use them to learn information as well as hone their
Internet skills. Some offer tips for continued off-line learning, too.
Check out the sites ahead of time, and you might be surprised how much fun
integrating technology into the learning can be!
There’s only two rules on Discovery Kids: Explore
your world and have fun! Kids, teachers and parents can participate in the
activities on this website and use them to enhance learning or spark
interest in new topics. Activities include an Automatic Adventure
Personality Profiler quiz that helps kids figure out what kinds of
adventurers they are and what types of adventures are best suited for
them. Participants can team up with other adventurers, keep track of their
adventures, and update their personalized adventure list. http://kids.discovery.com/KIDS/dots.html
Fleet Kids - FleetKids is about encouraging
learning through inquiry and getting kids started on the path to money
smarts. It is also about showing kids that money smarts is not just
earning until you’re blue in the wallet. Money smarts means working
hard, saving, and investing. In addition, giving something back to the
people who helped you out when you needed it and to people who can reach
out and help others.
Each time students learn about financial concepts, they’ll
earn points that the child’s school can redeem for technology-based
rewards. In the FleetKids program, each child investigates an array of
mathematic, financial, and social concepts, including: setting goals,
saving and budgeting, balancing “needs” and “wants,” learning to
work with teams, and developing solutions. In keeping with the hands-on
nature of the site, FleetKids activities reflect real-world experiences.
http://www.fleetkids.com.
Headbone Zone - Headbone Interactive recognized the
need to provide students and teachers with a safe, structured, and fun
tool to explore the Internet and practice online research. Even though the
site is geared toward teachers, you will find resources that offer
engaging ways to teach students Internet research skills - Headbone Derby
and Newspapers in Education (NIE). Best of all, they are both free! The
Headbone Derby Teacher’s Guide has all you need to get started, as well
as an Internet Primer.
The Headbone Derby is a series of online research
adventures designed for fourth through eighth grade students. These
Internet research tools provide students with an engaging structure where
they learn and conduct Internet research. Every Derby is an adventure
story with a dynamic cast of characters and involves subjects that are
important to kids. Every story has seven episodes, each ending with a
puzzle. To solve the puzzles, students are directed through the World Wide
Web. Students submit their answers online and receive points as they
complete the puzzles (accuracy counts, not speed).
There are also links and activities teaching kids to
compare their local online news with printed versions and with national
online news sources.
http://www.headbone.com/derby/invent/teachersguide/
The Young Investor Web Site - This award-winning
site is the best resource on the Internet for teaching children about
finance. With animation and lots of fun graphics, kids and their parents
can explore the world of finance without reading dry finance books. One of
the best sections on this site is the library. It is well organized and
has easy-to-understand articles on investing and money, as well as a
dictionary of financial terms. Kids and their parents will also discover
what Albert Einstein considered the eighth wonder of the world-I’m not
telling-you’ll have to visit the site to find out!
http://www.younginvestor.com
National Geographic -Without Geography, You’re
Nowhere! This slogan introduces a fun, interactive website that teaches
kids how exciting geography can be-it expands far beyond memorizing
capital cities. Family Xpeditions is an opportunity for teachers,
students, and parents to explore the world through reading, suggested
field trips, games, and crafts.
Activities are rooted in the National Geography
Standards crafted by U.S. educators, and new activities are introduced
every two weeks. Many activities center on the Internet; others will spur
children to turn off the computer and try a hands-on approach. All will
help kids take a new look at the old Earth. Activities include a “Hunt
for Treasure” with a map and geographical clues to finding hidden prizes
and “Geo Games” where you can create geography “game shows” and
other contests for family, friends, or classmates. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/index.html
Science Brainium -Brainium.com’s flagship
product, Science Brainium, is a content-rich and action-filled Internet
resource for elementary-and middle-school students and educators. Thematic
learning paths engage students as they take an active role in science
literature, note taking, and assessment activities. Curriculum-based
concepts-90 percent of Science Brainium’s content addresses the National
Science Education Standards-are explored, comprehended, and applied via
graphics, games, links to appropriate science websites, and updated news
stories.
As a teacher teammate, Science Brainium provides
intuitive and timesaving resources such as lesson plans, Internet links,
and printable activity sheets as well as suggestions for assessment,
enrichment activities, and even hints for second language speakers and
remedial learners.
http://www.brainium.com/
If you have any questions about this column, please
call (410) 685-7878 or (800) 492-1964, ext. 247 or e-mail at janderson@msba.org.
